NBN debate full of 'erroneous' information

By Trevor Clarke

It is only going to get worse. Ever since it was first announced more than four years ago, the national broadband network has polarised people, including those whose official public comments add considerably to the debate. Some of it is erroneous and misleading, according to the experts. And even then, experts' opinions vary.

IT Pro asked about a dozen Australian academic institutions to compile a list of statements they believe are inaccurate. Three of them responded with the following comments. You might like to add your own in the comments below.

There are many opinions on what is wrong with the NBN debate.Credit:Thinkstock

"Alternative technology" not really an alternative now

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Mark Gregory, senior lecturer at RMIT's school of electrical and computer engineering, said the public is being misled on how alternative technologies including hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) and fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) could be used to replace fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) and speed up the NBN rollout.

"To change direction now requires major, multi-billion dollar contracts be renegotiated with Telstra, Optus and Vodafone – and there is no reason why any of these companies would agree to proceed."

He said there was also a multitude of construction contracts that would need to be changed or exited, placing a burden on taxpayers.

"Evidence is emerging as the NBN rollout proceeds that the copper network is beyond saving, network plant and infrastructure requires substantial maintenance and upgrades, and there are more network black-spots than previously identified.

"The Australian public is being hoodwinked by false statements that have been substantively disproved," Gregory said.

"Up to" speeds, up to no good

Professor Rod Tucker, director of Melbourne University's Institute for a Broadband-Enabled Society, said using the term "up to" when referring to broadband speeds was deceptive.

“For example, we often hear how 3G and 4G wireless can deliver "up to" many tens or even hundreds of megabits per second. But these bandwidths can be achieved only if there is one user per wireless tower and that person is beside the tower."

Realistically, many users share the wireless spectrum, reducing the achievable capacity, he said.

"Imagine buying a Porsche that the sales person says can go up to 250 km/h, only to find that the real speed is much less than this because of other peak-hour traffic and the limited number of lanes on the freeway.

“We also hear how fibre-to-the-node delivers 'up to' 50 megabits per second, or some such number. But the capacity of FTTN depends on the customer's location and the quality of the copper network."

By contrast, he said that with fibre-to-the-premise, the user gets exactly the bandwidth they are promised. "The FTTP freeway has a lane for every car.”

Wireless technologies cannot overtake fibre

Vijay Sivaraman, associate professor at the UNSW's School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, believes strongly that fibre-to-the-premise is the right way forward for the NBN.

But he disagrees with the assertion that wireless technologies are going to overtake fibre in the future.

"I think this is either incorrect or misunderstood: wireless and fibre can in fact be complementary and not at odds with each other. Fibre has virtually unlimited capacity, but is impractical to bring it all the way to the user device, be it the desktop PC, smartphone or tablet."

He said while wireless is convenient to the user, it is inherently limited in spectrum and the capacity that needs to be shared among users.

"A natural way to get the best of both worlds is therefore to bring the fibre as close to the user as possible, and thereafter have a wireless tail going to the user device. The question really is how close you can take the fibre to the user, before you decide to put a wireless base station."

Sivaraman said rolling out fibre all the way to the home gives households virtually unlimited bandwidth, ensuring adequate infrastructure for high-bandwidth applications such as HD TV/video, education and health services well into the future.

Sivaraman added that in-home WiFi is already complementing fixed-line broadband access and is a suitable partner, not replacement, for NBN connections.